Devil, Satan, Serpent, Dragon

 

Revelation 20:2

And he laid hold on the dragon, 

that old serpent, which is the Devil,

and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

Devil

The word ‘devil’ appears 145 times in Scripture. Of these, 43 refer to ‘devils’, or ‘demons, demonic unclean spirits’. The other 102 are most definitely referencing Satan, the devil. Revelation 20:2 lists all four of these in one verse, thereby giving us the knowledge that Satan is called devil, serpent, and dragon. 

Revelation 20:10

Manipulator

Matthew 4:1, 5, 8, 11

Roaring lion 

1 Peter 5:8

Murderer, father of lies

John 8:44

Contender: 

Jude 1:9

Held the power of death

Hebrews 2:14

Transgressor

1 John 3:4-8

Fallen in fury

Revelation 12:12

Thief

Matthew 13:19

Luke 8:12

John 10:10 (implied)

Dragon

The word ‘dragon’ in regards to Satan occurs 13 times in The Book of The Revelation to John. 

Revelation 12:3-4, 7-9 (2x in vs7), 13, 16-17

Revelation 13:2, 4, 11

Revelation 16:13

Revelation 20:2

Isaiah 27:1

Satan:

The name Satan appears 82 times in Scripture according to Nave’s Topical Reference Bible and Torrey’s Topical Textbook. I’ll just list a few. 

Revelation 20:7

Fallen from heaven

Luke 10:18

Prince of this world

 John 12:31 

Accuser

Luke 22:31; Revelation 12:10

Deceiver

The god of this age

 2 Corinthians 4:4

2 Corinthians 11:19

Executioner

Luke 13:16; 2 Corinthians 12:7

Evil Cohort of Lawlessness

2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10

Hinderer

1 Thessalonians 2:18

Tempter

Matthew 4:3, 10

Angel of light

2 Corinthians 11:14; Galatians 1:8

Schemer

Ephesians 6:11

 Serpent

Genesis 3:1, 2, 4, 13-14

Isaiah 27:1

Revelation 12:9, 15

Revelation 20:2

From Genesis to Revelation these names of Satan are made known to us that we might be forewarned against our adversary. To keep us alert, watchful and aware of his tactics that we might avoid his pitfalls, traps and snares. Which truly can only be done when we turn our heads and our hearts to Jesus Christ, He Who is Faithful And True, KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. 

Jesus Christ cannot turn against God for He is God. He never breaks a promise (Faithful). He never lies (True). He is Ruler over all kingdoms (KING OF KINGS). He is Master over every dominion (LORD OF LORDS). 

Jesus loves us. Satan hates us. Jesus died for us. Satan kills us. 

Jesus shepherds us. Satan devours us like wolves. Jesus wants the best for us. Satan wants us to fail and fall short. Jesus is The Light of The World, the glory of God revealed. Satan is the angel of light, disguising his intentions with deceit and confusion. 

Satan is a master manipulator and all who manipulate the Truth of God’s Word for their own selfish desires are of Satan. Those who rebel against God, believing that they are right and He is wrong, are fools and will find, to their dismay, regret and torment, that God is NEVER WRONG and has NEVER LIED about Who He Is. 

There are many liars in the world today. It is our responsibility as Christians to know The Word of God intimately, that our walk with Him would be so strong and faithful, that we would be able to discern who is of God and who is not. Recognizing the liars for who they are and exposing their lies to be false.

Even in churches which profess to be God’s houses, there is an increase in the wolf population. Though their good deeds are public proclamations of charity and kindness, their core is rotten; yet, they gain in popularity, though not in discipleship. Their pews are full, but their hearts are empty of the knowledge and personal relationship values of God and His Christ. 

Any site or author who denies God is God is antiChrist and cannot be trusted. These people are following the angel of light. I will not name names. The anointing of The Holy Spirit not only reveals knowledge, but imparts wisdom into the born again believer: we know when to speak and when not to speak. We open our mouths and He fills us with The Word which needs to be spoken. 

Satan is real. He is not a made-up being, nor does his appearance match any of the images in which he is depicted. What he used to look like in heaven is now tarnished and stained by his sin, his transgression against God Almighty.

 His eternal punishment is yet to come, which is why God created hell: for the devil and his angels. For one-third of heaven’s angels chose to rebel with Satan, who was called Lucifer, and so received God’s condemnation upon themselves, as well. 

[Isaiah 14:12-15] [Ezekiel 29:12-19] Though both of these passages are literal judgments against specific kings, they are also judgments against Lucifer. And his angels are judged. [Job 4:18; Jude 1:6; 2 Peter 2:4; Revelation 12:7-9; Matthew 25:41].

“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in The Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of The Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38 

Repent: change our thoughts, the way we think and turn away from our sins which we have been committing. Turn to God and ask for His forgiveness, which He willingly offers to any who seek Him out, through the blood of His Christ, His Lamb, Who died on the cross in our place. Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon The Name of The Lord shall be saved.” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

Baptized: submersed beneath the water, as a public confession of faith in The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation. It is an outward display of the inward change which our God has wrought within us. 

Remission of sins: pardon, forgiveness, deliverance, released from a debt or obligation. It is the removal of guilt from a person’s heart/soul, thereby freeing the person from the bondages of sin. Are you that person? Have you, indeed, been to Jesus for the cleansing power of His forgiveness. Are you redeemed by the blood of Lamb?

 I am redeemed by the blood of God’s Lamb; His Christ lives in me by faith in His Name. His Holy Spirit fills me and empowers me to rise up and speak out The Truth of God’s Word. 

Come to Jesus. Today is your day of salvation. 

2 Corinthians 6:2

For He says: “In the time of favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!

 

The Conversation

 Genesis 3:1-5

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ ”

The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”

"You will not surely die,” the serpent told her, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

     Eve was not surprised when the serpent spoke to her. There is no shock, just a simple conversation. It is what the serpent said, and how he said it, that changed everything. This conversation changed the nature of conversing between animals and people, between people with each other, between people and God. Before this conversation took place, the first two people were in daily personal contact with God and He with them. Adam worked with God in the garden: he cultivated and tended it; God created animals and let Adam name them. What they were called is what they are now. But The Conversation ruined everything.

     First, the serpent questioned God's Word (Did God really say that?). Second, Eve replied to the serpent with second-hand knowledge of what God spoke to Adam. 

     God said to Adam, "“You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”

     Eve said to the serpent, "But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” She added to God's Word when she replied to the serpent, "or touch it". 

     Thirdly, the serpent lied to Eve by telling her she would not die. For death, separation from God, was instantaneous when she bit into the fruit which grew on the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Her first mistake was to listen to the serpent (verse 2), her second was to respond (verse 2-3), and her third was to take action after contemplating what the serpent spoke to her (verse 6). 

     This conversation between Eve and the serpent is repeated a multitude of times on a daily basis with all people. We need to learn from Eve's mistakes and avoid any form of conversation with the enemy of God. This is not something we can do on our own: we need the power of God, the power of His Holy Spirit, to teach us to recognize temptation when it rears its ugly head and to avoid it by rebuking it when we see it and hear it. 

     We must seek out God's Wisdom by studying God's Word and spending time in prayer with God Himself. We need to hang out with God's people, building each other up in love, faithfulness and compassion. We need to gather with God's people and worship God the way He wants to be worshiped: whole-heartedly.  

  

     This is the only recorded conversation between mankind and animal in the Garden of Eden. There is another instance of an animal speaking to a human, but that wasn't in the garden (Numbers 22:28-30). 

     I'd like to believe that the animals still talk in the Garden of Eden. It is hidden but still viable (verse 24). 

Identifying the Enemy's Tactics-Subtility

Genesis 3:1 "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, Yes, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"

Our enemy is subtle. Searching through different Biblical versions and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance for the word 'subtle/subtile' we see that this means crafty, sneaky, cunning, shrewd.  
In Genesis 3:1 the devil also twisted the words which God had spoken to Adam. He said "every tree", which may have confused Eve and tricked her into answering him instead of ignoring him. 
But when evil is whispered repeatedly into the ear, the heart makes a decision without thinking of the consequences. 
God said death was the punishment for eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). The serpent said, "You won't die, you will be like gods."  The enemy told an out and out lie. 
Death is the result of sin. Sin is willful disobedience to what God has spoken. Eve willfully ate the fruit and then handed it off to Adam, who also ate of it. In that instant they both knew they had disobeyed God. But the serpent's tactical interference did not end there. 
For when God asked why did they do it, neither took responsibility for their actions. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the snake. The snake was punished as well. Reading Genesis 3:14, 15 we see that snakes had legs! "upon thy belly you shall go". The snake itself became cursed above all animals which God had created. Verse 15 says God put enmity (hatred, hostility) between the woman and the serpent.  Not fear, but hatred. 
We are not to fear the enemy of our souls but be for ever on the attack and alert for him. Knowing how he works is a good start.